Los Angeles Times bestsellers for May 17, 2009
| Fiction | Weeks on list | |
| 1. | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. | 43 |
| 2. | Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon: $23.95) In the latest installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Precious Ramotswe is in need of her own detection talents. | 2 |
| 3. | The 8th Confession by James Patterson (Little, Brown : $27.99) The murders of a priest and high society couple test the limits of the Women’s Murder Club. | 2 |
| 4. | Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the “Twilight” saga finds Bella choosing immortality. | 40 |
| 5. | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up. | 16 |
| 6. | First Family by David Baldacci (Grand Central: $27.99) A child is kidnapped from a birthday party held at Camp David. | 3 |
| 7. | The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press: $22) A writer corresponds with islanders after German occupation. | 40 |
| 8. | The Women by T.C. Boyle (Viking: $27.95) Frank Lloyd Wright’s life as told by four women who loved him. | 12 |
| 9. | Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $25.95) Sookie Stackhouse finds herself as a pawn in a war with a race of unhuman beings. | 1 |
| 10. | The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion: $17.99) Percy Jackson and his army of demigods battle to stop the Lord of Time. | 1 |
| 11. | Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster: $24) The lives of two married British journalists and a Nigerian teenager collide. | 10 |
| 12. | Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster: $25.95) The case of a man accused of murdering his wife reveals a medical phenomenon. | 3 |
| 13. | Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Knopf: $26.95) A twin brother’s journey from revolution in Ethiopia to a New York City hospital. | 3 |
| 14. | The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $25.99) Aliens take over the minds of humans. | 37 |
| 15. | Nobody Move by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux : $23) Some lowlifes in the American West play a cat-and-mouse game over millions. | 1 |
| Nonfiction | ||
| 1. | Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey ( Amistad: $23.99) The talk-show host lets women inside the mind-set of a man. | 14 |
| 2. | Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions: $25) The talk-radio personality’s call to revitalize the conservative vision in America. | 7 |
| 3. | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers. | 25 |
| 4. | Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox (Hyperion: $25.99) The actor’s emotional and spiritual outlook in his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. | 6 |
| 5. | Columbine by Dave Cullen (Twelve: $26.99) A journalist reconstructs the psychological journey of two teenage boys who became killers. | 4 |
| 6. | Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley (Twelve: $24.99) The son of William F. and Patricia Buckley tells of life with the high-powered couple and how he coped with their deaths. | 1 |
| 7. | The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor’s terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life’s moments. | 53 |
| 8. | The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow (Gotham: $26) Eleven childhood friends from Iowa maintain enduring friendships throughout the years. | 1 |
| 9. | The Lost City of Z by David Grann (Doubleday: $27.50) Col. Percy Fawcett’s quest to find an ancient Amazonian society. | 7 |
| 10. | The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (Beyond Words: $23.95) Life’s secrets, distilled. | 108 |
| 11. | The Yankee Years by Joe Torre (Doubleday: $26.95) Behind the scenes of what it really took to keep the Yankees on top. | 12 |
| 12. | Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact that a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library. | 29 |
| 13. | Einstein’s Riddle by Jeremy Stangroom (Bloomsbury USA: $16) A collection of riddles, paradoxes and puzzles. | 1 |
| 14. | The Inaugural Address 2009 by Barack Obama (Penguin: $12) A keepsake edition commemorating the inauguration of the 44th president. | 11 |
| 15. | Might as Well Laugh About It Now by Marie Osmond (NAL: $24.95) The singer imparts her insights on how she’s survived life’s successes and disappointments. | 1 |
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